In the fall 1968 the teachers union of New York City went on strike for seven weeks-and altered the racial and political landscape of the city forever. Using historic recordings as well as new interviews, New York in Black and White tells the story of this tense period, when an experiment to transfer control of the public schools to the residents of black and Hispanic neighborhoods met opposition from the mostly white and Jewish teachers union . precipitated the strike, leaving one million children out of school. Set against a backdrop of riots in other major American cities, the racially-charged atmosphere surrounding the strike shakes traditional political alliances, and its effects reverberate to this day.
John Rudolph of WNYC brings you this story.

Program Credits

New York in Black and White was produced by John Rudolph for WNYC, New York. The editor was Karen Frillman. Lechek
Voichek (LEH-chek VOY-chek) was the recording engineer and Karen Perlman was the mix engineer.